Nathan: You've heard the term that your net worth is in direct proportion to your network. And, you know, we're in a world now that allows us to get very close to people that we normally wouldn't. So we're like, hey, let's make sure that we bring some people together, what if we brought some people together in a format that can allow people to really connect with others? You know, ask some fun questions, ask some tough questions, and help people really build their network and, you know, get closer in proximity, there it is, there you go. So that's kind of what proximity is all about, right? We're going to be bringing on some guests, every once in a while we're going to be talking about some relevant topics that are going on in today's industry, right in today's real estate industry. And then we're also going to be, hopefully rolling out a post a week, you may get some fun stuff, where it's just hashing it out, and most important going over some great topics.
Jake: It is almost like bringing ourselves to your kitchen table, or whether you've got a university on wheels, and you listen to the podcast such as this, while you're driving from appointment to appointment, we just want to make sure it's really conversational. It's very real and raw, it's not going to be one of those completely, you know, professional productions. And that's on purpose. Because generally, right over Nathan's shoulder, he has a sign that says, be you and be real. And I know he stands for that, as do we here at The Locker Room. And just to piggyback off what you're saying, of how we landed on Proximity Podcast, a great friend of mine, a fellow coach, also, I picked this up from him and he said something along the lines of this analogy, where why do people pay literally 1000s of dollars to go to the Super Bowl to sit on the 50-yard line, you know, 10 rows deep? Why do they do that? Well, because there's a difference. You're in closer proximity to the game to the players, the real-life action versus sitting for free on your couch watching the game, eating Cheetos. Okay, so it's kind of logical to think that people actually pay for proximity.
Now there is no compensation received by this but the point is, Nathan and I were going to talk about some really real things and we are going to bring some guests on here that you know, like, and trust and probably have seen as industry titans out there and bring them right here, front up close and personal. And that's what we're all about. So if you're wondering, well, is this for me? Who the heck is this for? What can I expect to get out of this? This is for business-minded real estate professionals, I just want to put that out there. These are episodes that are going to be for people who really have a desire to grow personally and professionally. They are all about personal growth, they have an open mind, and they value learning from other people, knowing that others have walked before them, and maybe just maybe left some breadcrumb trails that we're going to expose for you to follow if it works in your business. And frankly, sometimes the best way to answer those questions is well, is this for me, who is this for? Here's who it's not for, if this is you, we love you. We're here for you in other ways, but this is not for people who are closed-minded. This is not for people who are not receptive to learning from others because they quote-unquote, no at all. So if that is you, there are plenty of other avenues. I'm sure there are podcasts out there, but we're going to be real, we're going to be very transparent and vulnerable. A lot of times I have a suspicion. And a lot of times we're probably going to get on rants and soapbox things, and it may not always be the most popular of opinions. But hey, it makes for good reality TV, doesn't it? So we've got in store for y'all
Hopefully that gives you a little bit more clarity on what you can expect and what this podcast is all about. And frankly, what the inspiration was for us to do this, because we're both pretty busy guys, like everybody out there as busy, I understand that. And yeah, it's really about giving value to the industry that has served us so well. And bringing people that maybe you otherwise would have had to pay big ticket items to go to that conference or convention, or you may never have even had a chance to get into their inner circles. And if we can bring them to your front doorstep, into your car, into your ears, then that's what we're going to do here through the podcast. So I think it'd be appropriate here given that this is our first to kind of get to know us a little bit. So I put it on the table and ask you a few questions. Mr. Nathan, Daniel.
This was not rehearsed, right. So you have no idea. I'm going to take it easy on you for today. Okay. But, you know, be succinct and yet as thorough as you need to be here. So just give us a little bit of insight.
What was your professional background? Not what you're doing today but a little bit leading up to it?
Nathan: I am a young entrepreneur at heart, you know, had big goals growing up, you know, like most of us do, and, and actually started my first business when I was 14 years old. And doing some work with my uncle that turned into a little bit more and, and, you know, just got the bug, you know, I knew I wanted to be successful according to my definition of success. And, you know, like most young boys, you know, preteens, you want sports cars, you want all the big houses and all that kind of stuff. I wanted those things, but I wanted some other stuff. And so I had this vision of what success looked like for me but going through high school I was like the jack of all trades. I had like 20 jobs going through high school but I always kept grabbing gravitate back to real estate. And as I kind of got out into the world, I graduated, took on a couple jobs and stuff and in the tech industry got to have some amazing experience there. It you know, traveled all around the world and will the country skyscrapers and Chicago's like all the way down to Dallas and stuff but lived in that tech space for a while so really love the technology space and saw a trend in the industry started going down about 2008 And I was like, You know what, go back to real estate. So in 2009 I started in Dallas, got my real estate license and really never looked back. I have an amazing wife who supported me in that decision. And you know, just like most agents it took me about six months to really get off the ground and get my first closing. I had a couple of small deals like leases and stuff that got me through but I just got the bug and took off never looked back.
A couple years in started the real estate team had had a really good success with online lead generation and I think my biggest month I ever had I had like 215,000 hits to my website and 1000 leads came in that month and here I was by myself just burning the phones all day long, no relationships, and had people asking me how I was doing it. So I started teaching several real estate offices and found a need in the industry. So started another tech company. And we went coast to coast and about six months in real estate offices and supporting agents in that Tech Tech launch. And instead of like that ramp up phase of looking good and being right, like we took care of all that, so you just go out, sell, sell houses, and then did that for a while, stepped into a CEO role, for a very large firm did that for about five years, in that in that role, and then, you know, woke up one day, we can talk about that story, a whole nother day, but woke up one day realized I was walking somebody else's path and not my own, and said, It's time I gotta get out and a mission was laid on my heart to impact the lives of 1000s of people. And now look at what we're doing. So we get to do this every single day and jumped into coaching, wrote a book, actually launched a podcast a couple years ago called The broker to broker podcast. And I've just been having fun since, you know, I don't know, I was born. But yeah. Express version.
Jake: And you helped grow, it was a billion correct billion with a B billion dollar producing?...
What makes you valid and credible and why people should want to listen to you.
Nathan: In that role, we were about 100. And I thought about 175 agents whenever I stepped in, and then grew it to read at 300 agents. And we're, I mean, we were so close, like, it was like $968 million. So I mean, I like to say a billion, but you know, if we're bringing sounds good. Sounds pretty good. So yeah, that's whenever I was doing that CEO role. So we did about a billion dollars in production in volume.
Jake: Well, so if that's not reason enough for somebody on here, to want to follow and continue to plug in and learn from your experiences and insights there catches up to speed briefly on what are you doing now? And what are your I would say, primarily, primary roles or responsibilities now?
Nathan: So, you know, stepped out of that CEO role in 2019. It was the end of June 2019. And, and, Jake, you and I had known each other for a couple years and gone back and forth and stuff. And it was like, I think you were getting on a cruise or either getting off a cruise whenever I connected with you. And, and I was like, Dude, it's time, let's get let's do this. And so partnered up with you in The Locker Room and, and just decided to come alongside you guys and try to figure out where I was going and how I was going to make this impact. And so I stepped into the coaching world, coached several agents, worked with several broker owners, eventually started coaching all the coaches, which was a blast, I did that for several years, several years, I mean, several years. And now I'm the Director of Growth here at The Locker Room. And the fun thing that I get to do is kind of this, like, I get to have these conversations like every single day. And it's really the proximity promise, right? One thing that we're doing a little bit different is like in our groups that we that we run, if you join the group, you're probably going to be hearing from me or somebody on the team. And it is going to be a real conversation, like no agenda, we are really here to help you. You know, I know one thing that we're doing right now, I don't know if there's going to be in the future. But like right now, you know, we're helping people find their next six figure focus in these calls. And so I get to do that every single day and, and make those connections and just welcome people into our world. I guess you can think of me as that church greeter that's like out front right now. And I just get to just have fun, have great conversations every day and just really help us grow and help everybody around the scrub that's in our community.
Is there a motto or maybe a theme that you chose to live by, what would that be? And why?
Nathan: Oh, 100% is be you and be real. That's really close to me. I mean, it's everywhere. I've got shirts, I've got, I mean, literally wearing a hat right now with the you know, it's it's it, you know, and, and I asked myself a lot, I'm actually writing a talk about this right now. And I've been letting it stew for the last couple years. And I guess that's another thing we can get back to later on how I came up with that. But I got to a point where I realized I was walking somebody else's path and not my own. And, you know, no, no fault of theirs at all. Like they're doing their thing and that it was all on me. And I just woke up one day and I was like, man, it's not fun. It's not fun. And so I made a promise to myself and had one of those spiritual moments where I kind of got slapped over the forehead and was like, man, yeah, I've been given everything that I need as long as I'm myself. If I live authentically, if I live authentically to myself, and to everybody and encourage everybody around me to do the exact same thing. That's it. So I made the sign, I do a little woodworking and that kind of stuff. And so I actually made the sign that I hang up here. And, a lot of times in my office, I'm gonna switch the background up. So everybody could see us a little bit. But you know, the sign hangs up in my office and that's it. It's a notice to everybody else. But it's also just a reminder to me every single day just to in my conversations like this be myself. That's the unapologetically me.
What you see, most real estate professionals being challenged by are getting wrong, right now is there anything that stands out is what most get wrong or what most are being challenged by?
Nathan: being challenged by I think right off my gut, what I would say people are being challenged with is what to do. You know, they don't know what to do. There's so many things. I mean, I know a couple years ago, I mean, obviously, we're all locked down all this other kind of stuff. And it became this thing of a side hustle and all this other stuff. And I think there's so much information out there, that it's very distracting. And somebody who has squirrel syndrome and has dealt with that a long time. It can be distracting, which it actually is a it's a hindrance against production and productivity. And actually, for the for the reason that people get into this is that finance freedom and flexibility. And, and at the end of the day, I think that can be the biggest challenge for people and just know there is hope there is hope with that, like keeps keep it simple. It doesn't have to be hard. Even though there are hundreds of different ways to do real estate. Find your way, you know, find be you and be real, find your way to do it. And keep it simple, as simple as you possibly can. And until you can show up consistently. So that's where I would say is just a lot of distractions with all the tech and you know, AI and all the different things that come out just to distract us. Just be yourself. Have great conversations and do that every single day.
What excites you the most about the future?
Nathan: What excites me the most about the future? Endless Possibilities. You know, I said this and people thought I was nuts. And they were challenging me. And I know there's a bunch of stuff going on on the socials. But honestly right now it's 2023. And I came into this year saying it's gonna be the best year ever. And I think what excites me the most, 23 is the best year ever. Why? Because I'm alive, you're alive, like we're here, right? And there's nothing like, I don't care what's going on, you know, as long as you go into it with a mindset of like, everything's gonna be okay. Hey, the future is what we want to make it. So I think that's what excites me is just, you know, what
What's your favorite book?
Nathan: Oh, holy moly, man. That's a big question, because we've got lists of them. Let me see. So many that have changed, changed my world. Let's see here. I love fans first. And then we read Fans First by Jesse Cole. There's some other ones too. And it's just it's off the top of my head. Oh my gosh, who not how, holy cow that was a big one. For me. I read that in one sitting on an airplane, going to a conference just nonstop did not put it down. So that one is a really, really big one for me.
Nathan: So I'm going to end it this way today, Jake, and maybe we can flip it up a little bit. I love dad jokes. As you know, I am a proud dad. Right now. Kalin just turned six. That's my son, and oh my gosh. So I'm going to end today with a dad joke.
Question:Why did the buddy go to the hospital? This one is for our very own coach Miss Mary Lou Damon.
Answer: Because he needed a hopper ration.
Jake: It's pretty bad...
Nathan: Anyways, shout out to Mary Lou for that one. Anyways, that was the dad joke of the day. So hey, thank you for reading TLR Proximity. Let's go.
